Brittle
by Alex-loves-her-Louie
Summary: Deidara had escaped Akatsuki, but is forced to hide in the mountains by other ninja chasing him. On top of that the Konoha ninja Kakashi is on the mountain as well, but is he a foe, a friend or something more? As Deidara travels across the land with Kakashi a world of darkness and secrets makes itself known. Surviving it may take all his strength and more. Kashi/Dei. Some swearing.
1. Snow

I don't own Naruto.

/

**Brittle **

It had snowed again, the sixth night in a row. From the window, Deidara could see the trees swaying violently in the wind as they were pelleted with snow. The blonde was beginning to wonder if he would _ever_ see the sun again. Sighing irritably, he looked back down to continue washing the few dishes left in the sink. Had he gotten so bored that he'd resorted to _cleaning_?

Suddenly, Deidara raised the glass and sent it crashing into the sink. His eyes followed the broken shards sinking to the bottom of the water.

"UHHH!" The artist snapped his gloves off, throwing them into the sink along with the glass.

Screw the snow, he was going out. Even if he couldn't fly or blow anything up, he could walk around and… and…

Fuck this! Deidara was a _missing ninja_ for god's sake! Deidara of _Akatsuki!_ Or he _was_… _Whatever! _That wasn't going to stop Deidara from doing whatever the hell he felt like!

He made his way out of the small kitchen and into the foyer, grabbing his black snow boots and pausing to strap them on. It wasn't really the snow's fault he couldn't go out- well, it _was_ the snow's fault he couldn't leave this dumbass mountain in the middle of _nowhere_. There was a small village at the base of the mountain- Nothing special, just a logging town. He wasn't even sure what the name was. But he _had_ gotten into a… disagreement.

To be brief, he had blown-up the son of the leader of the village.

He had started to zip up his jacket when he heard a snapping, cracking sound. Deidara looked out the window just in time to see all the snow fall off the branches of one of the many nearby pine trees. With a relieved sigh, he relaxed his body. Being chased made him jumpy.

Deidara wasn't afraid! He was _never_ afraid. Especially not of some stupid civilians trying to kill him. He could turn them into art faster than they could say 'what the fuck'. No, he wasn't afraid of them.

The stupid village had hired some ninja to track and kill him.

That DIDN'T mean he was afraid of them! He just needed to lay low. What was the point of faking your own death if you got captured?

After the little "incident" he had receded to the mountain, found this cabin, spent the night, and when he had woken up in the morning, he was snowed in.

That was six days ago. Now he couldn't do shit because of the ninja after him.

Deidara tied his long blonde hair up, leaving the left bang to fall over his face. Next, he strapped his bag of clay (that was running dangerously low) securely around his waist. The blonde peeked out of the front door window. Although it had stopped snowing, it was still mildly windy and icy. Not to mention the foot of snow that covered the ground. Lastly, he threw on a knitted red scarf and black snow goggles.

When he opened the door and stepped outside, the freezing air hit his face, and he almost turned back around. Well, almost. Deciding he would go crazy if he spent one more second in that tiny old cabin, he trudged on. Going through the snow was like wading through water. He had first tried to lift his legs up above the snow to walk, but grew tired of this and decided shuffling was his best option. He could have run through the trees, if they weren't covered in ice. Stupid snow…

Deidara had made his way maybe half a mile from the cabin. He knew he should stay close to his temporary hideaway, but he enjoyed the scenery and fresh air. The trees (save for the evergreens) were bare of leaves; the sky was a blank white. It was almost like the trees had been drawn on the paper-like sky. But, alas, the snow would melt and the sky would fade back to blue. The blond smiled at this. The snow was like art, fleeting.

His head snapped to the right when he heard weapons being thrown and deflected. His hands instinctively flew to his weapons pouch, and he dipped his hand in, letting the mouths munch on a small piece of clay. His blue eyes continued to scan the tree line in the direction the noise had come from. Taking his hands away from his pouch, he let the small bird creation crawl out of his hand. Its head tilted to the side, examining its master. Deidara stared into its hollow eyes before commanding it to flap its wings and fly off towards the noise, the white bird then disappearing into the falling snow.

The blonde let some time pass before closing his eyes and forming a hand seal. The black nothingness he saw from his closed eyes was now replaced with a bird's eye view. The bird was flying high above the ground, looking down on the white world. Deidara's blonde brows furrowed together- all he could see was white and the few browns and (even fewer) greens of the trees.

The clay bird continued to scan the area until Deidara spotted a flash of vibrant blue light. He instantly pushed the bird in its direction, which definitely isn't as easy as it sounds. Not with the wind blowing in the opposite direction of where the bird needed to go. _That _and the snow had started up again. Deidara was vaguely aware of the cold around him, but brushed it off and put all his focus onto flying the small clay creature that was being violently swept away by the wind.

Every time Deidara tried to make it go forward, the wind just pushed it back! It was aggravating!

Somehow he had managed to land the small bird on a tree branch not far from where the flash had been. And, low and behold, _someone _was about five feet away from the tree his bird was sitting on. He examined the figure carefully.

One man was face down in the snow. What had been white around him was now stained a deep red. Deidara analyzed the back of the person, noting the uniform he was wearing resembled that of the ninja that were chasing him.

That made him smirk a little.

He swiveled the birds head slowly from side to side. Now that he looked around more critically, he noticed four others dead in the snow. All of them were wearing the same uniforms as the first.

Deidara's smirk only widened.

He would have liked to thank whoever had killed these fuckers. Now if only that person could control the weather, they would be his hero. Deidara snapped the birds head to the right. His smirked flipped into a frown and his brows furrowed back together. The blonde had seen movement. Something, or someone, had just moved out of the bird's line of sight. And in his direction! If it was another one of those stupid ass ninja…

Deidara put the bird on auto-pilot. He was only twenty feet away from where his bird had been... Whoever it was, they were coming this way. The blond opened his stormy blue eyes, looking determined. It was either wait for them to come his way or go to them- Deidara decided on the latter.

He glanced around, finding a group of three large trees clustered together. He decided this would be the best place to hide, there was even a small opening between each of the trees that he could look through. The blond jumped over to the trees then situated himself behind them.

Deidara felt a little like an idiot. Hiding behind a tree, waiting for someone who may or may not be coming in this direction. _"Maybe I should have my bird look for them, un,"_ Deidara thought idly. No, that would take too much concentration. By the time he found whoever they were, they could already be on him.

With a sigh, he looked up at the angry grey sky. The snow was falling down in fat flakes now and the wind was becoming much more violent than before. He needed to hurry up and take care of this person before the weather got really bad…

_Crack._

Deidara's eyes snapped back to peek in between the cracks in the trees. He almost couldn't believe what he saw. It hadn't taken him more than a second to recognize the fucker. After all, he _had_ ripped the blonde's arm off.

Deidara sneered. _"What the hell is he doing here, yeah…?" _

Deidara eyed him critically. He looked like he was going to pass out, and there was a limp in his left leg. His close were ripped, burned, and covered in blood. Even his headband was missing, but somehow his grey hair was practically untouched. It was still sticking straight up in spikes, save for the bangs just above his eyes. And, even after looking like he'd been to hell and back, his dumb mask was still on. His scarred eye, the one with the sharingan, was closed_;_ Good, Deidara didn't want to see his stupid eye.

The leaf ninja continued to limp towards the trees Deidara was lurking in, his tired eyes on the ground. _"What the fuck was his name again, Kashi?"_ The blonde really didn't care enough to remember. He had been strong, strong enough to almost kill Deidara of Akatsuki. _"Maybe I should be a little more wary, yeah…" _

Deidara wanted to laugh when he saw the man almost fall face first in the snow. Who was he kidding, this idiot looked like he would trip on a rock and die right now! This would be too easy, to just kill him. It almost didn't seem fair!

He soundlessly pulled a kunai out; he would slit his throat, Deidara decided. Blowing him up would be too ostentatious, and if this dumbass was here then his dumbass friends would be, too.

Just as he was about to reveal himself, a chill shot up his spine, and definitely not from the cold. He felt a small amount of pressure pressed up against his neck. He had a feeling if he wasn't wearing a scarf, it would have felt cold and sharp.

"Drop it," The calming voice told him.

Deidara gritted his teeth. _"Stupid, stupid, STUPID! What the hell was he thinking, yeah! He shouldn't have let his guard down so easily, un."_ The blonde watched with seething anger as this bastard's bunshin disappeared in a puff of smoke in front of him.

The blonde dropped the kunai into the snow. He mulled over the idea of just turning around and punching this asshole, but decided to play it cool. _"Just until I can find an opening, yeah." _

Deidara saw the bloodied, gloved, hand grab the kunai from the snow out of the corner of his right eye.

"Stand up, slowly." He spoke again. Deidara let the corner of his mouth twitch upward. He sounds _tired_…

Deidara stood slowly. He felt his clay pouch being taken; he let out a growl at that. But when the Konoha ninja had dared to frisk him, the blonde almost lost it.

"Get the fuck off me, yeah!" Deidara spun around on his heel (which, wasn't easy to do in this snow) and went to punch this fucker in the face. Unfortunately, even in his weakened state the grey haired man was fast and bigger then Deidara was. He easily caught the blonde's fist in his hand, twisting his arm around and pushing him up against the tree.

"UHHHH!" Deidara struggled and squirmed, but the man had a couple inches and about twenty pounds on him. Deidara wasn't weak, but the other was _slightly_ stronger than him. After a few minutes of Deidara thrashing around and the Konoha ninja holding him in place, Deidara stopped. _"His grip is like iron, un!"_ The blonde thought between breaths. He made one more feeble attempt to kick at his suppresser, but to no avail.

It was awkward, having this man pressed up against his back, and his front pressed into the tree. _"Now I know how a sandwich feels…" _

"Are you ready to cooperate now? Or are you going to try that again?" Deidara really hated the sound of this guy's voice.

"Go fuck yourself, un!" Deidara yelled back at him.

"I'm going to take that as a no," Even with one hand-and about to keel over!-the Konoha ninja could hold Deidara's arms. Damn, he really needed to lift some weights. That or grow a foot taller.

"I remember you, you're from Akatsuki. I do remember you with two less arms, though." He spoke while he tied Deidara's arms behind his back.

Deidara felt his face go red from anger. "I'm not in fuckin' Akatsuki anymore, yeah! What is this, un? Why are you tying me up, un!" The blonde thrashed a few times to prove his point. He wanted to kill this fucker, these restraints were pissing him off.

"Well, it looked like you wanted to kill me, so I restrained you." He began walking, pushing Deidara in front of him.

"_Is he going to take me out in the woods to kill me, yeah?"_ As soon as the thought left his head he knew it was idiotic. They were already in the woods, why would he need to drag him out even further to kill him?

The way they were walking, Deidara noted, was in the direction of the cabin he was staying in.

"Where are you taking me, un?" The artist asked. At first he didn't answer. That just pissed him off even more. Just as Deidara was about to yell at him, he spoke. "To my camp. You are… _were_ a member of Akatsuki. I can't just let you run free, you know," his voice slightly muffled from his mask.

Fuck, he needed to get away from him. If Deidara got to this fucker's camp, all his fucker friends would be there too, and it would be even _harder_ to get away then…

Lost in thought, Deidara didn't have time to notice the wave of snow hurdling towards them. It knocked him over, burying him in white. Deidara didn't know what to do at first. So, naturally, he did the only thing he could do. He freaked out.

/

This chapter was all in Deidara's point of view.

**Betaed by ****you can't help but fall****. If you read this before, you know how much better she made this!**

Thank you for reading!


	2. Guilt

I don't own Naruto.

/

**Brittle **

"I'm going to die here, un…" Deidara tried to struggle free, but the snow was packed around him. An overwhelming feeling of dread washed over his body, making him go numb for a few moments. "Fuck, I need to get out!" that was all the blonds brain could process at this moment. He felt like he was suffocating, and the white walls were closing in on him. Deidara closed his blue eyes. He needed to just calm down and breathe. He focused on breathing. Trying to forget the fact he was stuck in a mound of snow!

He could vaguely make out the sounds of fighting. It was coming from above him. "Was that idiot fighting with the other idiot that had attacked them, un?" He knew that snow hadn't just hopped up and attacked them itself. It had obviously been a jutsu.

Deidara started to stand, but realized he was going to have to start out smaller. He started by wiggling some space around him. "This would be so much easier if I could use my arms dammit, yeah!" The blonde's thoughts drifted back to the Konoha ninja. Whoever he was fighting right now, was most likely looking for Deidara. Maybe it wasn't such a good idea for him to be making so much of a ruckus. He didn't want either of them to think he was alive.

Finally, he managed to stand. And he could see a small hole in the top of the snow! The blond moved so his knees were bent and sprung upward, head-butting the snow wall above him. He looked back up, shaking the snow off of his head. He could see the angry grey sky. A grin plastered itself on Deidara's face, but was quickly replaced with a frown when he heard a new voice talking. _"The one who's chasing me, un…"_ The blond needed to get his hands free.

He moved his hands to his boot feeling around inside for his knife. Once he grabbed the weapon, he unsheathed it and maneuvered it to cut the ropes binding him. He took off his goggles first then silently climbed out of the snow. He observed his surroundings quickly, assessing the situation. The new ninja was wearing a familiar (stupid) uniform and currently was ever so slowly stalking over to the Konoha ninja. The grey haired man was laying on his front in the snow, his eyes barley open, and his face turned towards them.

Luckily, Deidara had been behind the even stupider ninja who was still stalking towards the other stupid one. He clutched his knife in his gloved hand tightly.

He had to be quick, the blond decided, before this fucker pulled something on him. He had enough surprises for one day.

Before he leapt forward, his eyes locked with the others dark brown and red eyes. _"I'll deal with you later, un…"_ Deidara thought.

The Blond was right behind the man, ready to strike. He raised his knife, aiming right were his spine met his shoulders. The ninja must have heard him, or maybe he could just feel it, because he turned around right before Deidara's blade met his spine. He ended up hitting the ninjas left shoulder instead.

"Ugh!" The man made a strange sound as the blade dug into his shoulder. Deidara was about to leap back, but a tan hand grabbed his wrist. The other ninja's icy blue eyes glared daggers at the blond for a few seconds before tugging his wrist (that dislodged the weapon) and squeezing until Deidara dropped the weapon. Before Deidara could even comprehend what was going on, the man punched him right in the jaw, sending him flying until his head connected with a tree.

"_Fuck, OW! I need my clay, yeah!"_ The blond must have lost conciseness for a few seconds, because all he remembered was the man coming towards him with his knife and then he was lying in the snow, dead, with the Konoha ninja standing over his body.

Deidara got up in a flash. He regretted it instantly, his vision went blurry and he had to hold on to the tree for a few seconds. Once he felt well enough to stand on his own, he locked eyes with the grey haired ninja. He didn't look too well. Well, maybe not compared to what he had looked like earlier. His stupid sharingan eye was closed and he was panting. Even shaking a little. Deidara was about to sarcastically ask if the man was scared when his dark brown eye closed and he fell face first in to the snow.

The blond smirked _"That takes care of him, yeah."_ The blond didn't even bother to look at the Konoha ninja as he walked over to the dead man holding his knife. He pried it out of his cold, dead, fingers, putting it back in his boot. He next moved onto the grey haired ninja. Deidara had a little gratitude for the man. He had, after all, just killed all the ninja after him. Of course, that didn't excuse him for trying to kidnap him earlier. Deidara took his weapons pouch from around the man's waist and attached it to his own. He stood, looking down at him and frowned. He was going to suffocate, if he wasn't already dead, if he didn't get his face out of the snow. "Speaking of snow, it's really starting to come down now, un." The blond looked up at the sky then back down at the man.

"Uhhh!" Deidara groaned. He bent down and turned the masked face so it was out of the snow. He noticed he was still breathing as well. The blond stood again, staring at him one last time, before he started to walk off towards the cabin.

The cold had just hit him all of the sudden. Maybe because he had been fighting, he hadn't noticed it as much, but now it was hard to ignore. "That Konoha bastard probably going to freeze to death, un." Oh, god, why did he have to think that? Now he was feeling, uhhhh, guilty.

He shouldn't be, that ass tried to kill him!

"_But he did save me, yeah…" _

"Uhhh!" Deidara stopped. The snow was blowing all around him. If he was going to do this, he had to do it now! The blond whipped around and stomped back over to the unconscious ninja. He turned him over and hosted him up on his back. _"He's so heavy. I can't believe I'm doing this, yeah…"_

"I hope your happy, fat ass, un…" Deidara murmured to the man on his back while he trudged on in the snow.

/

This was a really, _really_ short chapter. Sorry . I'll try to have another one up soon. On the last chapter when I said the perspectives would be changed, it didn't show up so it will now be ~. Also, I am in need of a beta reader. So if anyone is interested, please let me know.


	3. Keep your enemies close

I don't own Naruto.

/

**Brittle**

Kakashi awoke with a splitting headache. He felt as if he was going to die. This feeling was only worsened when he tried to sit up quickly. "AH!" He couldn't stop the noise from leaving his mouth as he plopped back down to where he had been laying. His whole body hurt. On top of that, he had no clue where he was. He thought back to what he last remembered. Tsunade had sent him on a solo mission. A group of rouge ninja had been terrorizing the fire country. He had been asking around and heard a rumor they had been hired to hunt someone. The person they had been hunting apparently killed someone of importance, and then fled into the mountains. Kakashi figured that was where he could find the rouge ninjas.

When Kakashi had found the camp, someone had been on watch 24/7. He waited for three days to find an opening. That came when all six of them had packed up and ascended up the mountain. They had been strong, and had almost killed him. In the end he had won.

"_Then what had happened_?" Kakashi thought.

He remembered… he remembered that blond. His name… Deidara. And he had his arms back. Kakashi wasn't sure how that was even possible…

With a sigh, Kakashi opened his eyes. He was in a small bed. A white sheet and blue blanket covered him up to his neck. Kakashi mustered up the strength to move his hand to his face. His mask was still on…

The grey haired ninja moved the covers off his body and slid his legs over the side of the bed with a wince. Looking down at himself, he noticed he was he was only wearing his black boxers. And half of his body was covered messily in gauze. His right leg was tied to a splint. It didn't feel broken; it must have just been sprained.

His eyes glanced over the rest of the room. It was small, was the first thing he noticed. Just one bed, a bedside table to his right, and a dresser behind him. A small square window was across from him above the dresser. All he could see was white outside. He must still be on the mountain. He looked to his left, at the only door in the room.

"_Right_" he thought "_I should have a look around_." He carefully got up, limping over to the door. He concentrated on listening for whoever might be in the house… cottage, cabin, wherever he was. Deciding it was safe; he warily twisted the handle and pushed the door open.

Despite Kakashi's attempts to prevent it, the hinges on the door creaked in protest. The Konoha ninja prayed he hadn't been heard. He stepped out of the room and unfortunately for him, the floors were no better than the door. By the fourth step, he knew if he hadn't already been heard, they wouldn't hear him walking now. His elegant steps became normal as he walked out of the small hallway he had found himself in, into a living room/kitchen. A brown couch sat in the middle of the room. The back was facing towards him while the front was facing a fireplace. He looked towards his left at a large rectangular window. It was snowing heavily.

Kakashi looked back to the fireplace with a shiver. He really wasn't wearing anything to help with the cold. He was about to limp over to the couch when he stopped. A pair of pale feet was hanging off the end of the couch. Kakashi looked around for a weapon. His eyes fell on the kitchen. Limping over to it, he rummaged through every drawer. "_Where are the knives_?"

"Looking for something, un?" Kakashi heard a filmier voice coming from the living room. He turned back around, going back over to the couch. He stopped to where he had been before, facing the back of the couch. The feet were still hanging off the edge of the couch, but one moved to itch the other. Then an arm stretched strait up into the air for a few seconds.

"…Deidara." Kakashi said slowly.

"Yes, un?" The blonde's head appeared, peeking over the back of the couch. His wide visible eye, eyed him critically as his face morphed into a scowl.

"Aren't you freezing, yeah?" Deidara asked, but didn't move.

Kakashi awkwardly moved from foot to foot. He was a little confused. Hadn't they been trying to kill each other earlier?

"Well, un?" Deidara looked a little aggravated by his lack of an answer.

"Yes, a little" Kakashi wasn't going to lie.

Deidara watched him a little longer. It was like Deidara was looking for something. Something… Kakashi wasn't sure of. Then, as if he realized he wasn't going to find it, he turned his head away and closed his eyes.

"I washed your clothes, yeah. They're over there, un." Deidara's head nodded upwards as he spoke. That didn't help Kakashi much. Deidara had his back up against the armrest of the couch. He was facing a large window overlooking the wooded land. Tilting his head up didn't give Kakashi much direction.

Kakashi wasn't stupide, though. He swiveled his body until his eyes landed on a neatly folded pile of clothing on the floor next to the fire place. He could see it peeking out from behind the right side of the couch. The side Deidara was on.

He still wasn't sure what to think of this situation. Deidara hadn't shown any sign of hostility (today) towards him. At the same time, anything sharp or otherwise harmful objects seemed to have been removed from what he had seen of the house.

Kakashi slowly made his way over to his clothing. All his garments had been placed in order from largest to smallest. Even his forehead protector had been placed neatly on top of the pile. Kakashi started by pulling on his long black pants followed by his black turtle neck. He left his coat and sandals on the floor. It took a while longer to get a sock on his bum leg, but he managed.

The grey haired ninja turned back to Deidara. The blond was still sitting in the same position, back against the side of the couch. Only, now Kakashi could see Deidara completely. He was wearing black capris with a white long sleeved shirt. Kakashi also noticed a sickly purple bruise on the far left side of Deidara's face.

"Don't just stand there and look at me like an idiot, sit down, yeah!" The blonde's eyes were still closed, but his face had morphed into a scowl. He also scrunched his legs up at the knees, leaving a space beside him on the couch.

Kakashi's leg was starting to hurt slightly. He decided it would be best to sit for a few minutes. He limped over to sit down beside the other. As he sat, Deidara's feet brushed up against him for a moment. The blonde's blue eyes quickly snapped open and he drew his feet closer to himself. If things hadn't been awkward before…

"So" Deidara started "are your weird friends going to be looking for you, un?"

Kakashi didn't really know what to think of that. Yes, his… _weird_ friends would be looking for him. He was really only supposed to be gone for a week. Depending on how long he had been out, Konoha would be looking for him.

"Yes, they should be." Kakashi watched Deidara's face. He didn't seem surprised. Kakashi knew he would be looked for in the village, not the mountains. He also knew it would be foolish of him to tell the blond that.

Deidara made a humming noise "As long as you don't bring them to me, yeah. I think you owe me that much, un."

Did he, now? Kakashi almost wanted to laugh at that. But… as he thought about it, Deidara must have saved him. Then again, Kakashi vaguely remembered saving Deidara from death right before passing out.

"How long have I been out for?" Kakashi was slightly worried that he had been out for more than a day.

"Three days, about, yeah." Deidara stood up, stretched, and then walked off towards the kitchen.

Three days… Kakashi had been out for three days. Add that to the two days of travel and three days looking for the rouge ninjas… he had been gone for eight days. Konoha would be aware of his absence, but wouldn't send a search squad until later tomorrow.

The Konoha ninja got up. He made his way over to the kitchen where Deidara was mixing up some eggs in a bowl. The blond looked to Kakashi briefly before returning to his task. Kakashi took a seat on one of the wooden chairs next to a small kitchen table.

"You said you weren't a part of Akatsuki anymore?" Kakashi thought it would be best to gather some information on Deidara because he had no clue of what to do in this circumstance.

"Yeah."

"How did you get out, if you don't mind me asking?"

Deidara put the egg into a pan on the stove. "…I faked my death, un."

This was… very interesting. "Why would you want to do that?"

Deidara scoffed, flipping the egg with a spatula. "Why wouldn't I, un? I didn't want to join in the first place. Sure, it was fun for a while, yeah, but then you realize they expect you to die for them, un." Deidara split the scrambled eggs onto two different plates. "And I have more important matters to take care of then dying, yeah."

"Hmm…" Deidara set a plate and pair of chopsticks in front of Kakashi, sitting across from him with his own.

"Why so interested, yeah?" Deidara picked at his eggs.

"Like you said, I owe you. I'd like to get to know you a little first before I repay you." Kakashi forced himself to smile under his mask.

Deidara rolled his eyes "More like keep your enemies close, yeah."

"Something like that" Kakashi chuckled. Deidara looked up at Kakashi, a little surprised. The corner of his mouth had twitched upwards. The blond was clearly trying to fight off a smile. Had Deidara thought he had no sense of humor?

"Well" Deidara said as he went to clean his plate in the sink, his back to Kakashi. Kakashi took the opportunity to quickly take of his mask and eat. "I hope you know I'm not going to take care of you, un" says the guy who just made him breakfast "So you need to pull your own weight while you're staying here, yeah."

Wait, while he was staying here. Did that mean he was a prisoner?

"It snows all the time here, yeah. I don't think either of us will be able to get off of this mountain in this, un." Deidara was looking out the small kitchen window as he spoke.

Kakashi put his mask back on. It had been hard enough to climb up this mountain when it was just lightly snowing. Now that it looked like the sky was falling, there didn't seem to be a way to leave. The grey haired ninja look closer outside. The snow was starting to pile.

"Hope you're ready for a long stay, un." Deidara set his plate out to dry. Then the blond walked towards the living room. He stopped right before entering, his back to Kakashi.

"I'm going to take a nap, yeah" Deidara's voice had little emotion, but Kakashi noticed he had a kunai clutched in his fist. "Don't try anything funny, un." With that, Deidara stomped off to another part of the house.

/

I hope this was long enough . On a serious note, fifty three people have viewed this story, and only one person has reviewed… I am very grateful to this anonymous reviewer and would like to know what others think of this story. So, please review.


	4. Dream of fire

I don't own Naruto.

/

**Brittle**

After Deidara had left to take a nap, Kakashi went to snoop around. He already knew the kitchen and the living room. Kakashi found a laundry room connected to the other side of the kitchen. He then went down the hallway he had emerged from. His room was to the left and a bathroom was to the right. The Konoha ninja could feel Deidara's chakra emitting from the room at the end of the hall.

"_That must be the master bedroom"_ Kakashi thought.

He flared his own chakra to alert Deidara.

Kakashi decided to go back into the living room. He sat himself down on the comfortable couch. The Konoha ninja sighed, relishing the warmth of the fireplace. Despite all that had happened, was happening, he felt oddly relaxed. Deidara… he still wasn't sure what to make of him. The blond was strange. Maybe not in a completely bad way, but Kakashi didn't trust him. Kakashi's thoughts drifted back to Konoha. To Naruto and Sakura. He hoped to see them soon or even at all.

Kakashi hadn't even realized when he had fallen asleep.

/

Deidara lay awake in his bed. His hand clutched the kunai tightly above his head. He wasn't sure what was worse, not knowing when the Konoha ninja was going to wake up or knowing he was awake and waiting for the bastard to try and kill him.

The blond rolled over on his side. He had… said too much. He knew he had, but… he hadn't talked to anyone in _so_ long. He had never been much of a people person. He had been an only child. Maybe that's why he appreciated his alone time so much.

But… he was still human. He couldn't be isolated _all_ the time. Even Sasori had needed company sometimes. Maybe not always to talk, just to be with someone. To know someone was there.

Deidara groaned. He hated needing anything! Especially people. And now it felt as though he needed someone to talk to!

When Deidara had brought him back, he had seriously debated killing the Konoha ninja. And Deidara almost had. Only, that voice in the back of his head had nagged him not to kill the other ninja! So, the blond had taken him in and bandaged him up. Deidara wasn't a medic, he barely knew first add. He had done his best. He cleaned out the wounds and bandaged them. Satisfied with that, Deidara had thrown him into bed and saw to his own wounds. His weren't as bad as Kakashi's (Deidara found his name on his dog tag when he had rummaged through the ninja's stuff). Just a lot of bruising, and a bump on the back of his head. All in all, he had been ok.

Deidara smirked. He could feel Kakashi's chakra as he crept around the house. The smirk was quickly replaced with a frown and the blonde's brows furrowed together. Kakashi wasn't concealing his chakra. In fact, he was flaring it. For some reason that made Deidara's face feel red. Kakashi was letting Deidara know he was there, as not to frighten him. As if Deidara got frightened! Still… it was a pleasant gesture.

Deidara snuggled further into the blankets. The mouths on his hands yawned and the blonde's eyelids slowly started to close.

He fell into a dream filled sleep.

/

Deidara awoke with a start. His heart was beating fast and a cold sweat covered his body. He had a horrid dream about fire. The blond sat up in bed. He hatted nightmares, but they seemed to be the only sort of dreams he ever had.

Deidara's body went rigged when a scratching sound started up. He looked behind him, at the window. He could barely make out the shadow of a tree scratching against it. _Just the wind, un…_

The room was covered in indigo shadows making it hard to see. The only noise that could be heard was the ticking of an old clock next to his bed. Deidara looked for a match to light the candle on his bedside table. The match sparked then the flames flickered to life. Deidara held the match up, the light of the fire softly illuminating his face. The flames danced with each breath he took. He continued to be dazzled by the flames as he lit the wax candle.

He glanced at the clock. One thirty five in the morning. He should be sleeping!

Deidara jumped when the wind outside picked up making the tree scratch against the window once more. The blond Decided it wouldn't hurt to walk around a bit. "_Away_ from the window" Deidara thought.

He wrapped his comfy blanket around himself and grabbed the candle. He slowly opened the door into the hall. It was dark as well. The blond waddled down the hall towards the living room. He wondered if Kakashi would be up. He felt the need to talk to someone. The blond quickly banished the thoughts from his head. He didn't need anyone.

Deidara set down his candle on top of a bookshelf as he entered the room. The fire place was still going, but barely. Only the red glow of the coals could be seen. The blond made his way over to the fire place, the sound of crackling wood and bare feet on wood were the only sounds in the room. Deidara lifted up a piece of wood with one hand. The other was tucked away within his blanket. He dropped the log on the fire with a dull "thunk".

"Hey." The softly spoken word made Deidara jump and whirl around to face the couch. The blanket made his shadow look bulgy, was the first thing Deidara noticed. As the flames danced, his shadow with it, Deidara couldn't seem to focuses on the person in front of him. It was so much like his dream…

"Hey!" The voice was loud this time "Deidara, are you alright?"

Deidara looked to Kakashi, dazedly, and slowly nodded. Kakashi eyed him a little, like he could tell Deidara was lying, but said nothing of it.

"Why are you up so late?" Kakashi asked the question, but his attention was on a book.

"Hmm…" Deidara was still a little out of it "I could ask you the same thing, un."

Kakashi chuckled "I fell asleep out hear. Then I woke up and grabbed a book" he gestured to the bookshelf behind them "And now you're here."

"…"

"What about you?" Kakashi turned a page.

"The wind woke me, yeah." Deidara scratched his side.

Kakashi nodded. Yet another awkward moment…

"You should sleep" Kakashi put his book down patting the space next to him. Deidara moved from foot to foot. He wasn't sure about sleeping right next to someone who wanted to kill him earlier, but he still had a drowsy feeling from waking up. He hadn't slept enough.

"Yeah, ok." Deidara shuffled over to the couch and plopped down next to Kakashi. He let out a sigh and closed his heavy eyes. He would just close them for a few seconds…

He felt a weight on him suddenly. He was so tired he didn't even react before he realized it was his blanket being pulled up.

"Goodnight, Deidara." Kakashi said next to him.

"Hmm…" Deidara hummed as he fell asleep.

/

_A crisp winter wind blew through the air. A chill ran down his back. He was overwhelmed by a sense of tranquility. He felt weightless. It was like floating in the middle of the ocean, in the dark. He couldn't see but he could smell the pine in the air._

_Then something happened. He could hear a clock, and something in his mind told him it was three. It was still dark, he couldn't see the clock, but… it wasn't a peaceful dark. A feeling of dread washed over him. Consuming his mind, making him confused. An insidious plan was about to unfold._

_He suddenly felt hot, unbearably so. He felt as if he was being burned. He tried to run, to move, to scream! But his body would do nothing! A wall of fire was around him, burning brightly. The light was alluring. He wanted to go toward it, but his mind was screaming "DANGER"! _

_He was still burning, still on fire, but he was passed hurting, passed the pain. Now, there was only the sheer admiration of the beauty of the flame as he faded away…_

/

When Deidara's eyes snapped open, he felt a sense of urgency. He was still on the couch, the fire was still on. He looked next to him. Kakashi had just woken, too. He was stretching, but lay back down. Still tired, like Deidara.

Deidara jumped up. He needed to see the time.

He stopped at the bookshelf. His candle had burnt out, but he could still see the clock next to it. Two forty five.

The blond raced over to his room. He rummaged around in the dark until he found another candle and match. His shaky hands fumbled with the matches quickly opening them. He couldn't light the matches, every time he tried, his hands wouldn't stay still long enough to light the dame thing! Finally, after three tries he managed to light the match and the candle. He ran to the corner of his room where his black backpack lay. He grabbed it, running over to the closet and shoving his cloths into it. He put on a clean pair of black pants and grey V-neck shirt. The blond then sprinted to the front door. His boots and white rain jacket were waiting for him. He struggled to get them on, stumbling in the proses.

"What are you doing?" Kakashi was watching him, leaning against the door frame.

Deidara stopped to take a breath. He glanced at the clock to his right. Two fifty three. A wave of adrenalin ran through him.

"Get your things, un. We need to leave." Deidara walked to the kitchen to pack what he could.

"Can I ask why?" Kakashi had followed him.

"No!" Deidara snapped "Just hurry before I leave without you, un." The blond continued to pack any food that would last more than a day in his pack. How was he supposed to tell the other he had a dream about being burned?

"Ok…" The other ninja must have sensed the urgency in the blonde's voice, because he got dressed, packed, and ate in less than five minutes.

"We have to go, yeah!" Deidara called, hand on the doorknob. They had less than a few minutes! Kakashi appeared fully dressed and ready to go. He was wearing long black pants with snow boots. You could see the black turtle neck peeking out from under his tan cloak. He looked like a weird wizard…

Deidara didn't wait for Kakashi. He opened the door, the cold night air hitting him in the face, and made his way through the snow. During the night, the wind had eroded away most of the snow, leaving only a few inches to walk through on the ground. Deidara hiked his way up a hill with Kakashi following close behind him. The blond looked back at the grey haired ninja. He was limping slightly, but he seemed to be doing much better than before. They reached the top of the hill, only to realize it was the peak of the mountain.

The black of the night sky peeked out from behind the clouds. Starlight shined down, lighting up the small snowflakes as they fell. Deidara didn't have much time to enjoy the view. Kakashi shook the blonde's shoulder from behind him. Deidara looked back at him. The Konoha ninja pointed behind them, at the cabin.

It was up in flames.

Deidara wasn't sure what to think. A wave of fear ran through him. His dream… had come true. Had his premonition been a warning? Or was it just a coincidence?

"Come on." Kakashi had already started down the other side of the mountain. They both knew the fire was not an accident. Whoever started it would be looking for them.

Deidara followed Kakashi off the snowy mountain into the woods.

/

I really do need a beta reader. My grammar has improved over the years, but it's still not up to par. If anyone is interested, please PM me!

This chapter is a little confusing, as it should be. It will make a little more sense in the next chapter. Not much more sense, but a little. That chapter will be coming sometime next week.

Thank you to all the people who have reviewed. If I could find out how to respond to the reviews, I would tell you personally. Unfortunately, I can't . Just want to let you know they are much appreciated.

Thanks for reading, and please review!


	5. Serpent

I don't own Naruto.

**Warning:** Some nakedness in this chapter. Don't worry, it's nothing graphic.

/

**Brittle**

"Where the hell are we, un!"

The pair had been walking for three hours now. They had climbed down the mountain, only to find themselves in dense woods. Deidara had climbed a tree to look for a way out, but all he found was trees, trees, and more trees. The blond couldn't make a bird to fly out, in case whoever had set the cabin on fire was looking for them.

And now here they were, Deidara stomping around trying to find a way out of the forest.

"Calm down, Deidara" Kakashi was trying to keep up with the blond, but his leg was still sore.

The blond ninja stopped running. He turned back to look at Kakashi. It was still dark out; the only light was from the sliver of a moon shining down on them. Deidara's light blue eyes glowed slightly in the light. He seemed tense and jittery. Kakashi could tell the blond was anxious.

"The sun should come up soon" Kakashi took his pack off and grabbed his sleeping mat "We should get some sleep before then. We can find a way out in the morning."

Deidara stood a little longer. The blond licked his lips nervously, looking around them, scanning the area.

"I will take first watch." Kakashi set his mat against a tree so he could lean against it.

"No need, yeah" Deidara had his hand in his weapons pouch. When he pulled it out, three little clay birds sat on his hand. "They'll keep watch, and look for a village, un." The birds flew off the blonde's hand, in separate directions.

"All right" Kakashi laid down on his mat. He watched Deidara pull his own out to sleep. His grey eye flickered to Deidara's weapon pouch. He wondered if Deidara realized he had found his own weapons while readying to leave. They weren't that well hidden. Kakashi found them under the sink in Deidara's bathroom.

Kakashi hadn't asked yet, but he was still wondering how Deidara knew to leave when they did. Kakashi himself hadn't even noticed anything wrong. Not to say that Deidara couldn't have, but… he felt if Deidara had noticed, he should have as well. The grey haired ninja decided not to dwell on it. For now…

/

Once Deidara knew Kakashi was asleep, he got up. The blond was having trouble sleeping. He couldn't stop thinking about last night, or this night, or however long ago it had been. He sighed. This brought back memories of his mother.

She had been a good mother, so nice and caring, but she had slowly slipped into insanity.

It started when he was about eight. His mother would hear voices, that weren't really there. Like, whispers in her head. That hadn't been bad, just a little unsettling. It was when the dreams started that she really started to lose her mind. She couldn't sleep because every time she closed her eyes she saw horrible things. The lack of sleep made her see things that weren't really there. She had been admitted to an asylum three times. Every time she came back she seemed fine, like it was the mother he knew and loved. Then, after a few days, she would start seeing things again. She had frightened him.

And it wasn't just seeing things that frightened Deidara. She would do crazy things. Like stay up all night and make him clean the whole house with her. She would be crying and muttering incoherent words the entire time. One time, Deidara had broken a dish, accidentally dropped it on the floor, and she flipped out. She slapped him, something his patient mother had never done before. Then she dragged him upstairs and locked him in the attic. He would never forget that. He had cried and screamed, begging for her to let him out. When she didn't come, the blond had a panic attack. Who wouldn't? Being ten and locked in a dark attic alone. He stayed in there the whole night.

She let him out in the morning. He asked her why she had done that, but she seemed dazed. He wasn't even sure if she knew what he was talking about. She said she didn't remember anything.

Three days after her last trip to the asylum, Deidara came home from training to find his mother hanging from a chandelier. That all happened in two years.

Deidara didn't want to end up like his mother.

Lost in thought, Deidara hadn't even realized he had walked right to a waterfall. It was beautiful. Small, a little taller than Deidara, but it was beautiful none the less. He walked around the pool of water surrounding the side of the cliff the water fell from. It cascaded down in white spurts to the deep turquoise of a mere. He watched the ripples of water glimmer in the moonlight. White and pink lilies grew near the shore. Small silver fish swam along the bottom of the mere, along with a huge snake…

What the hell, a snake? Deidara bent down to lean over the surface of the water. He thought he saw a snake or maybe some kind of eel slithering at the bottom of the pool. It looked big, really big. The mere was so deep and a dark blue at the bottom, he couldn't see unless he leaned in really close.

As the blond leaned in closer, he could see the shimmer of whatever it was in the water. _"Just a little closer, un"_

He fell in.

Deidara gasped when his head breached the surface of the water. How thoughtless of him! He really was losing his tack. He needed to be more careful, more aware. The blond continued to bob in the water. He was debating what to do now. It was so warm, compared to the bitter cold of the mountain.

He swam around, not really feeling like getting out just yet. The blond was starting to enjoy himself, swimming around the pool, until something bumped into his leg. Deidara jumped slightly. It felt slimy, like some kind of fish. His blue eyes looked down to the water. Something was swimming around down there, something huge. He could see the faint blue glow of whatever it was.

Not really thinking, Deidara inhaled a breath and dove under the water. He almost couldn't believe what he was seeing. It was the strangest creature. Its head was about the size of Deidara's torso. Its body was long and appendage-less, save for the fin at the end of its tail. It had a catfish like face with whiskers. To horns at the top of its head looked like small tress. The vibrant blue of its body reflected the moonlight above them, giving the creature a glow.

The blond kept himself under, watching the creature drift along the bottom of the pool. Its large yellow eyes darted around until they fell on Deidara. He continued to watch with wonder as the thing slithered through the water towards him. It swam around him in a circle, observing him. Deidara tried to keep up with it, but wasn't as elegant as in the water. When its large head finally faced Deidara's, they were only three feet away from each other, staring directly into each other's eyes. The blond had the sudden urge to reach out and stroke the creature.

So he did.

His tan arm reached out to touch it. Its yellow eyes went cross eyed as Deidara touched its scaly skin. His arm drew back quickly on instinct. He moved to touch it again, this time lingering to pet at the thing. It leaned its head into his hand, relishing the affection. He wanted to stay longer, but Deidara could only stay under for so long.

He kicked his legs, ascending upwards until he broke the surface of the water. He glanced around swiftly at the forest. The sun was just beginning to peak out from behind the trees. The blond looked over to the water fall. The creature's head was bobbing just on the surface, watching Deidara. He waved to it, even if it was just an animal, he felt it would understand.

Its nostrils flared, making the sound of air rushing through them. Then, it sank back under the depths of the water.

Deidara floated in the water and watched the sun rise. It would be best if he didn't tell Kakashi of this. The other ninja would think he was crazy, if he didn't already. He could feel a familiar chakra emitting not far from him. It was steadily getting closer, but the blond couldn't bring himself to move out of the water.

"Deidara!" Kakashi called from across the pool.

/

Kakashi had awoken alone. The faint light of dawn was starting to seep into the woods. Birds chirped and sang softly. Everything was peaceful.

But he was still alone.

The grey haired ninja got up. His leg felt so much better, like it was almost all the way healed. He stretched and looked over to where Deidara should have been. His bed lay on the ground, but the blond was missing. Kakashi grabbed his things and Deidara's as well.

Kakashi used his ninja skills to find where Deidara had gone. He followed the trail of crushed leaves and flattened grass to a small pond. Deidara was floating in the middle of it.

"Deidara!"

/

After getting Deidara out of the water, Kakashi had set their camp back up. He set a fire while Deidara undressed and hung his clothing to dry. The woods were warmer than the mountains, but not by much. The blond had started to shiver on the short walk back to the camp. "_That's what happens when you jump into a lake…"_

Deidara came out from where he had been hanging his cloths to dry. His long blonde hair was let out of its tie. It was wet and clung to his neck and face. The blond was clutching his thin, short, sleeping blanket around his body. It was wrapped around his shoulders, concealing his torso. The blanket wasn't very long. It only went down mid-thigh and road up a little every time he took a step. Every step he took, Kakashi could see a little more of his pale thigh…

Kakashi quickly looked back to the fire after he realized he had been staring.

Deidara had sat down across from him. He hugged his legs to his chest to pull the blanket around his legs. The blond looked strange, with the blue blanket around him. All that could be seen was his head and bare feet. His body looked like a blue blob.

"I think the rogue ninja chasing you had friends." Kakashi started, stirring the soup he was making over the fire. "They probably found that we killed their friends and came after us."

Deidara wiggled his tows. "Yeah, that's what I was thinking, un."

The grey haired ninja poured the soup into two separate bowls. He handed one to Deidara. "Can I ask you a question?" Kakashi asked.

"You just did, yeah" The blond picked something green out of the soup, flicking it on the ground "But, sure, un."

"_Smartass_" The grey haired ninja thought. "How did you know we were going to be attacked?" Kakashi held the warm soup in his hands, waiting for Deidara to look away. The blond seemed to notice this. Deidara rolled his eyes, but put his headband over his eyes. Kakashi ate.

"I don't know, un." Deidara answered.

"You don't know?" Kakashi knew Deidara was hiding something from him. He had a thought, and at the time he thought for sure it couldn't be possible, but now he didn't know. What if Deidara had been working with the group of rogue ninja? He wasn't sure what Deidara could possibly gain from that, but it was still a possibility. "Surly, something must have alerted you?" Kakashi pressed for answers.

"I don't really remember, yeah." Deidara seemed aggravated.

"You don't remember?" Kakashi couldn't stop himself from pressing further, even with the knowledge of Deidara's short temper. "I thought you said you didn't know?" He put his mask back on.

"I did! I don't know, because I don't remember, un. Can you just drop it, yeah!" Deidara whipped of his headband, throwing it at a tree. His visible blue eye glared at Kakashi.

"I think you do remember." Kakashi should have stopped, but he needed to know. That and he enjoyed making Deidara angry. "I think you're lying to me because you don't want me to know the truth."

That was when Deidara lunged forward and punched him, with only a blanket covering his body.

The hit went to his jaw. It was with all the blonde's force, but his small stature made the hit weak. Kakashi grabbed Deidara's arm and flipped him on his back. The grey haired ninja was leaning over to restrain Deidara when the blond tried to kick him in the face. Kakashi easily dogged that, wrestling the boy to the ground. Kakashi had managed to pin the blonde's arms above his head with one hand. He used his shin to keep Deidara's legs down. The blond was using all his strength to try and wiggle free, but Kakashi was much stronger. He waited for Deidara to cease his struggling.

The blond finally stopped. Deidara was panting and his face was flushed. He noticed Deidara's face seemed to heat up even more as he accessed his situation. It was a bright red against his pastel skin. Kakashi was a little confused by this. Until he remembered Deidara's blanket had fallen in the scuffle. He could see a strange tattoo on the blonde's chest, but didn't look any further.

"If you're ready to be calm, I will let you go." Kakashi kept his eyes on Deidara's face.

"Fuck you, un!" Deidara started to struggle once more.

The blond squirmed, and twisted in Kakashi's grip. The blond even tried to bite him.

Kakashi sighed. "Deidara" the grey haired ninja said in an authoritative voice "Just stop." Oddly enough the blond did. His blue eye looked up at Kakashi with so much distain. "I'm going to let you go now, ok?"

The blond just glowered at him.

Kakashi slowly let go of the blonde's wrists and got off of him. Deidara quickly stood, wrapping his blanket around his naked body, and stormed off to sleep in a tree.

Kakashi didn't see him for the rest of the night.

/

_In Konoha…_

"_Shizune!" Tusnade called from her office. _

"_Yes, my lady?" The black haired women peeked her head in the door._

"_I'm I wrong, or was Kakashi Hatake not due back days ago?" The blonde women's brown eyes scanned the paper in front of her furiously._

"_Uhh… Yes. Yes, I think your right." Shizune entered the room completely now, a small pig followed her. _

_Tsunade continued to read the paper before slamming in down on her desk. Shizune jumped slightly, not expecting the sudden outburst. _

"_Send for Sakura, Naruto, Sai, and Yamato immediately!" _

/

It's been a long time since I've updated. Strange happing's have been… well, happening lately. This chapter is where things really start to get strange. I drew what the fish serpent would look like. It's my profile picture. I hope to update soon.

I've decided that since I can't find a beta, the next person that tells me to fix something has to beta for me. Not really, but don't blame me when everything is spelled wrong. Well, you can blame me, but do it silently in your head. My rant is done!

Reviews are loved!


	6. Future

I don't own Naruto.

/

**Brittle**

The next morning, Deidara said nothing. They had started walking with the river attached to the pond Kakashi had found the blonde in. He figured Deidara's birds had found nothing. The blonde hadn't protested when Kakashi had led him to the river. If they followed the river, then they were sure to find a village near it. Water equals life.

They had been walking most of the day. The sun was high in the sky now and the further they went, the warmer the weather got. Kakashi had abandoned his cloak a ways back. Deidara had stuffed his rain jacket into his backpack. They walked alongside the river. Kakashi watched as red fish, possibly salmon, jumped out of the gleaming water to get over rocks. They must be going back to where they had been born to spawn. Being on the mountain had made him forget it was spring.

The Konoha ninja looked up towards the tree line. There were no clouds in the sky, but a line of smoke could be seen coming from behind the trees.

"Deidara" Kakashi said. The blonde turn to look back at him as the grey haired ninja pointed at the line of smoke in the sky.

"It's a village, I think, yeah." Deidara walked in the direction of the smoke. Kakashi followed him into the woods.

It was a short walk. Deidara had been right, it was a small town. They pair walked side by side down the dirt street, passing by little shops and people haling crops down the road. The blonde veered him in the direction of a small clothing vender. It wasn't a bad idea, Kakashi cloths were filthy, and he could use something lighter.

The women selling the clothing smiled brightly when she noticed they were interested in her cart. Deidara started talking with her, acting as if it was an inconvenience to be speaking with the young girl. She leaned forward, resting her elbows on the cart in between the two. It was clear she was trying to show as much of her cleavage as she could to Deidara. She took a moment to flip her long red hair as they talked. Her green eyes squinted as she smiled. Deidara was ether unaware or choose to ignore her flirting.

Kakashi looked around. People walked passed them, looking at the various shops. Shop owners tried to lure them in by lower prices or better produced. The grey haired ninja continued to scan the area, when his eyes landed on a strange woman. She was wearing a dress that faded from a dark to a light purple with a cloth tied around her head to match. It clung closely to her curvy body. Her wavy blonde hair hung loosely out of the cloth. She looked about Kakashi's age, twenty-six. She has the most piercing brown eyes he had ever seen. And she was looking right at him. It was almost like she was staring into his soul.

She beckoned to him with a wave of her hand, before walking into the doorway she had been standing in.

Kakashi turned back to Deidara. "Deidara" he said, the blonde turn toward him. The red head girl seemed a little put out that the attention had been taken off her. "I'll be back in a minute. I'll meet you back here." Deidara nodded going back to buying clothing from the girl.

The Konoha ninja turned and walked the short distance to the shop. Dark curtains concealed the window. Large yellow letters read "Fortune teller" above the door. Kakashi felt slightly silly, but walked in anyways.

It was very dim inside, only lit by small wax candles. Many old knickknacks filled the room. A dragon statue curled around an egg, stuffed animal furs, and jade sculptures were some of the many things around the room. Old books sat on every open space. He looked further back, the women from before was standing in another door way. She stepped aside to let Kakashi through. He warily entered the small room. She closed a dark curtain behind him to cover the doorway before stepping around him to sit at a large round table.

"I am Mori, sit" she said in her thick accent. She gestured to the seat across from her. Kakashi sat, looking around at the faintly lit room. A crystal ball sat in the middle of the table. A deck of cards was to Mori's right. The grey haired ninja understood.

He moved to get up "I'm sorry, I don't have any money."

"_Not for this nonsense…" _He thought.

"No!" Mori shouted, startling Kakashi. "Please, I am sorry, don't leave. You don't need to pay me for what I have to tell you."

Kakashi sat back down.

Mori picked up the cards "When I saw you" She placed a card down, it had someone pushing a bolder up a hill "I felt you had something special."

"I'm not really special" Kakashi said.

"No" Mori laughed slightly "I said you had something special, not you are special." She put down another card. Two swans with their heads pressed together in the moonlight. The third card was a wall falling apart. The last was a black wolf. Mori gasped as the last card fell onto the table.

She stared at the cards, and then slowly looked to Kakashi. "These cards can read your future" Mori said "Do you wish to know what they say?"

"I told you I don't have any money." The grey haired ninja didn't really believe in all this mumbo-jumbo anyways.

"I told you, no money." She seemed to be slightly offended.

"… Alright, what do they say?" He decided to please her.

She kept a hard look as her long nails pointed to the first card. "Pushing a bolder up a hill means hard struggles."

"_He was a ninja; he would always have hard struggles."_

She smiled as she pointed at the second card "swans, you have already met your love."

"Hmm…" Kakashi was not impressed.

"Be careful, though." She said as she pointed to the wall falling. "They are like this wall. Strong and proud, but even they can be hurt, can be delicate, _brittle_." She whispered the last word.

Her smile was replaced with a look of anger and fear. She held up the last card. Mori spoke in a manner that made it seem as if it was a struggle to talk. "The black wolf" She spat "Is evil. He causes pain everywhere he goes. He cannot be killed, only avoided. Do not let him lure your love to him. He is a master of deception. The only thing that can denture the black wolf is a powerful spirit." She folded the cards up and stood.

Kakashi stood as well.

"Thank you" Mori bowed "for listening to me."

Kakashi bowed to her as well. He followed her out of the room to the door of the shop. Kakashi went to leave, but Mori stopped him. "When I said you had something special, I meant him." Her pale arm pointed out into the minimizing crowed, at the clothing stand… At Deidara.

She smiled "be careful with him."

And with that she closed the door.

/

Deidara had been attempting to get away from this crazy bitch for what felt like forever. She was talking his ear off in her weird accent. All he wanted was to buy some cloths, and she would not stop talking! And she was talking about nonsense! "Where are you from" and "How old are you". She needed to know none of that! He had given her fake answers to all of her questions, accept his age. How would it hurt her to know he was nine-teen?

Stupid Kakashi, leaving him to fend for himself against this tart. It was likely for the best. Deidara was still embarrassed about Kakashi seeing him naked. The blonde didn't want to speak with the other ninja right now…

"Did you need sandals, too?"

Or maybe he did.

The girl (she said her name, but Deidara didn't care to remember) twirled a piece of red hair around her finger as she spoke. What was wrong with this girl? She leaned more forward then necessary to grab two pairs of sandals. Deidara looked at a shirt hanging up to avoid staring down her shirt. If he wasn't worried about gaining too much attention, he would have punched this lady in the face.

"We should find an inn for the night." Kakashi said from behind him.

Deidara glanced back at the grey haired ninja. "_Where the hell have you been, un…"_

"Fine, un." Deidara looked back to the girl. She smiled brightly, handing Deidara his purchase.

"Have a nice day, come again soon!" The girl shouted as the pair walked away.

"She was nice" Kakashi said to Deidara.

The blonde scoffed "More like annoying, un."

Kakashi chuckled.

"What, yeah?" Deidara asked, slightly appalled.

"Nothing." The grey haired ninja said back.

"Hey!" Deidara yelled "You can't just do that, un. What were you laughing at, yeah?"

"Nothing." Deidara could see the smile behind Kakashi's mask.

"Kakashi, un!"

/

I have a vague idea where this story is going. I do have a _plan_, but it's unfolding as I go along. Hope you like this chapter. It's shorter than the others. The next one will be longer, I promise!

Reviews are loved!


	7. Festive

I don't own Naruto.

/

**Brittle**

They had found a small inn at the edge of town. It was a little dingy, but it was the only inn with a room open. A small bathhouse was right next to the inn. Both buildings where right up against the woods.

Both ninja had taken turns bathing. It had been nice to feel clean after the long trip they had. Now they were getting dressed in their room before going to explore the village. Deidara knew Kakashi only wanted to go out to find how far Konoha was from here.

The blond had bought both of them clothing. Apparently, tonight, a small ceremonial festival was going to be held in the town. It was a fertility festival. The village celebrated the dragon that made rain and fertilized the land. It was also a celebration of human fertility.

Kakashi stepped out of the bathroom attached to their room. The blond looked him over skeptically. He had bought Kakashi a black and white checkered Kimono for the festival. It looked nice on him. A vibrant red obi was tied around his waist. The black pants and wood sandals Deidara had gotten him went well with the kimono. To Deidara's disappointment, Kakashi was still wearing his mask. Deidara hadn't gotten him this nice outfit for the grey haired ninja to wear that stupid mask.

Deidara's sandals clicked on the wooden floor as he walked to the older ninja. He stopped in front of him, poking his mask.

"Do you ever take this off?" Deidara asked.

Kakashi slapped his hand away. "No."

Deidara looked over his face. His bright blue eye met Kakashi's marked red one. "You're not wearing you're headband, un?"

"No, you shouldn't either" Kakashi said "no one needs to know who we are."

The blond nodded, taking off his headband and going to set it in his bag.

"You look nice." Kakashi said from across the room.

Deidara stopped what he was doing. A blush crept over his face. "Thanks, un" The blond murmured "You do too."

Deidara had gotten himself a kimono that looked like dark ocean waves. His obi was white to match the spray of the ocean. He had the same pants and sandals as Kakashi.

"You ready?" Kakashi seemed anxious to leave. Probably couldn't wait to get back to stupid Konoha.

"Yeah, let's go, un."

The pair walked down the stairs and out of the inn. It was just starting to get dark out when they stepped outside. Paper lamps were being lit around them. More carts with food and novelty items had been put up. Deidara could smell cooked meat and spices in the air. The two continued to walk down the dirt road and admire how much the town had changed in a few hours.

Deidara stopped when he noticed a street vendor selling masks. He looked over to Kakashi, who had also stopped. He couldn't help the grin that came to his face. The grey haired ninja smiled slightly as Deidara pushed pass people to get to the masks. He picked a few up, examining them. He was searching for the right one when his eyes landed on a mask near the back of the cart. It only covered around the eyes, but Deidara wanted it. It was black with blue swirls mixed in. Blue gems rested every here and there around the mask.

Deidara held the mask up to the vendor. He glanced away from the people crowded around his cart to yell a price at Deidara. The blond tossed some coins at the man and ran off to look for Kakashi.

He found the grey haired ninja not far from the stand, walking around.

"Hey" Kakashi said when Deidara walked up next to him. The blond put the mask on and smiled at Kakashi.

The Konoha ninja chuckled and handed Deidara grilled chicken on a stick. The blond accepted it. It tasted great. The sauce it was marinated in was sweet and tangy. It had been a long time since he had good food.

Deidara discarded the stick on the ground when he saw people dancing around a bonfire. An idea came the blond and he felt a wave of excitement run through him. He glanced out the corner of his mask to see if Kakashi was paying attention. The grey haired ninja was slowly moving towards a man selling maps. Deidara rolled his eyes, but took out a small amount of clay. He let the clay slip in the slit of his glove. The mouth on his hand gladly accepted it and began to chew. He stood there, in the middle of the street, pretending to watch the dancing with a manic grin on his face. In reality he was thinking of the look of terror the people would have on their faces when they saw his art.

A small spider crawled out of his palm and skittered down his leg towards the fire. Deidara watched it go before walking over to Kakashi. He grabbed the grey haired ninjas sleeve leading him away from the fire. Oddly, Kakashi said nothing. Just walked and read his stupid map. Deidara's grin widened. He would look away from that map soon enough.

They had to be a least thirty feet away now. Deidara let go of Kakashi's arm to hop up on a rooftop. He sat down on the support beam to look at the brightly blazing fire. He felt Kakashi sit down next to him. He was looking away from his map now, looking at Deidara. The blond just smiled at him and pointed at the fire. As soon as Kakashi looked at it, Deidara made his hand seal.

"Katsu!" The blond felt a tingly sensation rush over him as the bonfire exploded. People screamed. The dancers scrambled away from the fire. People tripped over each other as some ran away from the explosion and others ran towards it.

Deidara laughed. They didn't understand just how lucky they were to see his art. How magnificent it was.

Deidara looked back to Kakashi. He seemed less the thrilled. He looked rather disgusted, actually. The grey haired ninja stood up, looking closely at the people. He had been about to go towards them, when Deidara put a hand up to Kakashi's knee.

"Relax, yeah" Deidara smiled up at the grey eyed ninja "It was only C-1. No one was killed, un."

Kakashi's face was still scrunched up in… anger. He looked really angry. Deidara felt like he should want to laugh at this. Kakashi was so calm and he had made him angry. This should be hilarious.

The grin faded off the blonde's face. Only… he felt disappointed, and a little scared.

He wasn't sure why he was disappointed. Very few people had ever really appreciated his art. Most people thought it was a waste of time. Most people thought his hands gross.

It wasn't the fact that Kakashi didn't like his art. That wasn't why he was disappointed. He wasn't sure why…

"Deidara" Kakashi knelled down next to him, to look him in the eye "You didn't kill anyone, but some people look hurt."

Deidara's eyebrows knitted together. So what if a few stupid civilians were hurt. Why the hell should he care?

"You can't just go around hurting people that haven't done anything."

Suddenly, Deidara realized why he was disappointed. The blond wasn't disappointed that Kakashi hadn't liked his art, He was disappointed in himself.

That made him very, very angry.

"Fuck off, un!" Deidara stood up and jumped to another rooftop. He continued to run from roof to roof, his mind racing. The blond soon realized His body was automatically heading towards the inn.

Good, he had a knot in his stomach and needed somewhere quiet to think.

/

Kakashi watched Deidara disappear out of sight. He sighed. That boy… he was tremendously confusing. He sat back down on the roof. He could see the fire had been put out and the injured were being taken care of. Kakashi thought it best to stay put, away from the frantic people.

He took the map he had bought out. It showed the layout of the land. That included Konoha. They had started at the border of Shimo no Kuni and Yu no Kuni. Now they were near the village of Yugakure. It was only a few days journey to Konoha. It would be easy to get there.

That wasn't the complicated part. Deidara was the complicated part, in so many ways. He needed to decide if Deidara was going with him to Konoha. And if the boy was a captive or… an ally.

It the past week or so, Kakashi had become… fond of Deidara. He wasn't that bad, if you looked passed his moodiness and craziness.

The only problem with Deidara was unpredictability. He was fickle and Kakashi didn't know much about the blond.

He sighed again. He would spend two more days here. In that time he needed to find what to do about Deidara. Kakashi got up and headed back to the hotel.

/

Deidara was lying on his bed facing the window when he heard the door slide open. He didn't bother to turn to look who it was when the light clicked on.

Kakashi entered the room silently. Deidara heard the ninja's footsteps head away from him, towards the bathroom. The blond would ignore Kakashi, he decided. Not only to spite him, but because he made him so dame confused!

Deidara knew Kakashi had high morals. He figured most of stupid Konoha did. Well, maybe not Itachi. Killing your family didn't quite fit in with having morals.

Deidara's morals might not have been up to Kakashi's standards, but he wasn't completely unprincipled. He would never let someone die slowly. Maybe not for the reason Kakashi would, to not cause pain. Death was meant to be fleeting, quick. A single moment of serenity before everything shattered. True art.

What Kakashi had said to him, had him really thinking. Normally, if people said something along those lines, Deidara would just laugh at them. He really didn't care if people got hurt. Hell, he didn't even care if they died! But, in his mind, Kakashi was highly regarded. As much as he hated to admit it, he respected Kakashi. To have him be that upset with him over a few hurt people …

Deidara felt a stab of pain in his chest. He had gotten too close. Too close to the point where he cared about what Kakashi thought of him.

He needed to separate himself from Kakashi. He should leave, tomorrow. Fly far, far away from here. He didn't know where, he didn't really care. He just needed to get away from all this, from Kakashi.

The blond closed his eyes when he heard the bathroom door open. Kakashi's footsteps followed. He heard the light click off and more footsteps. He opened his eyes to find the small lamp in between his and Kakashi's mats had been turned on. Kakashi was standing next to his bed, but leaned down and knelled next to Deidara. Kakashi was just wearing his boxers. Deidara was as well, but he had a white tank top on to cover his chest.

"What, un?" Deidara felt slightly uncomfortable. Kakashi was just sitting there watching him. The blond didn't know what he should do.

"I've found a path to Konoha." Kakashi's voice was soft and gentle. Deidara stared up at his dissimilar colored eyes. His sharingan glowed brightly in the dimly lit room. He couldn't bring himself to look away from it. "I'm leaving in two days."

Deidara's face hardened "Oh, that's great for you, yeah." Deidara stared down at his pillow "is that all, un?" "_So much for ignoring him, un…_"

"I want you to go with me."

If the blond was drinking water, he would have spit it out.

"You want to just kill me now, yeah? Save Konoha the trouble. I won't tell you _anything_, un." Not that he knew much about Akatsuki nowadays anyway. He was more just being stubborn then caring about letting out Akatsuki's secrets. They tried to screw him over anyways.

"No" Kakashi said with a shake of his head "I want you to go back with me as… an ally, Deidara."

Deidara couldn't hold back laughter as he sat up on his elbows. "You want me, an ex-Akatsuki terrorist, to go back to Konoha with you, as a friend, un?" Deidara giggled just thinking about it. "You must really be crazy, yeah…"

"No" Kakashi said sternly "Deidara, think about it. If I can per sway are Hokage to let you stay, you wouldn't have to run anymore. Or hide. We could offer you protection."

"And what would I have to do, un? It can't be that simple. And what do you gain, yeah? Why do you want me to go back with you, un?" The blond was beginning to feel like this was a trap.

"Well… you know about Akatsuki. If you could give us any helpful information, even just to protect Naruto." Kakashi looked ridiculously hopeful.

For some reason, this wasn't the answer Deidara had been looking for.

"What about Iwa, un? They'll want my head. And Suna, yeah." Well really, everyone would want to kill him. Then again, they already did.

"I can try and help you. You're a good ninja. Konoha could use your skills, your art…"

Deidara looked up into Kakashi's eyes again. He felt butterflies in his stomach. Kakashi… liked his art?

"_More like he knows how to manipulate you, un._"

Deidara looked away, tapping his finger on his knee. He wasn't sure what to say. Not having to hide or run sounded great. Being able to use his art, even better. But, to use it for Konoha's goals would be like being back in Akatsuki. Maybe not as bad.

"Think about it, ok?" Kakashi patted his knee, his fingers brushing Deidara's.

"Ok, un." His voice sounded so small, even to his own ears.

The grey haired ninja nodded, then got up and lay down on his bed. Deidara laid his head on his own pillow. He felt really tired all of the sudden. Closing his eyes felt reliving.

The blond heard the light click off then Kakashi's voice "Goodnight, Deidara."

"Night, un…"

/

I'm going to be fixing some of the chapters, so don't get mad if you think I'm updating. The next chapter is going a little slow. I should have it done by next week. School has started, speaking of being slow. I'll try and update as much as I can during school, but don't expect a chapter every week. That's what I get for taking so many IB classes…

Thank you 22smile22, for making my day. Every time I think about pimp-tastic, I start laughing.

And thank you to all my other reviewers!

Reviews are loved!


	8. One step closer

I don't own Naruto.

/

**Brittle**

Deidara had woken up just as the sun was rising. He looked over to see if Kakashi was awake, only to find the other ninja's bed rolled and already tucked away. He wasn't in the room anywhere, but his stuff was still here. Deidara figured he had gone to get something to eat.

The blond rolled out of bed onto the floor. He lay there for a few seconds, debating if he should get up or not. The sun had drifted in through the window, beaming down on his blue eyes. The blond scrunched up his face in anger. He decided to take a shower and then go find Kakashi.

/

He had cleaned himself, and then put his hair up in a wet, messy, bun. The blond decided to wear black, capris, sweatpants-thingies and a white, long sleeved, V-neck. After dressing, he put his sandals on and headed downstairs. The blond didn't see the grey haired ninja at the front desk, so he asked the old lady working there if she knew where to find him. At first she just continued to read her paper. Deidara had been about to pull a knife on her when she looked up at him. She said the other ninja had gone out about half an hour ago, heading towards the garden.

Deidara flipped her off as he walked out the door.

He walked to the garden, entering through an arch covered with wisteria. His blue eyes marveled at the flower. Its vines climbed up the arch In search of light. Little white butterflies fluttered around the arch, lading softly on the light purple petals. Where he came from, those butterflies were called willow-o-the-wisp. He had gotten lost once following them into one of the rare forests in the deserts of Iwa.

Deidara walked along the stone path. He liked this garden, he decided. It reminded him of his mother's garden. The one that died after she had.

Many flowers grew in the tall grass. Foxgloves, lilies, hydrangeas, all kinds of flowers. Too many to name. And tall oak trees, their leaves new and green. A few statues sat here and there. One of them had a very familiar pair of horns. Horns that looked like small trees…

Deidara stopped to look at the statue. It was the same serpent he had seen when he fell into the mere. The snake was carved into a light grey stone. Its bright color was not captured, but the curve of the body; the catfish like face and whiskers were unmistakable.

"His name is Bo-n." Deidara turned to see a small boy standing not too far from him. He looked ten or eleven, with short brown hair and dark brown eyes. He was covered from head to toe in dirt with a small shovel and bucket in his hands. He must work in the gardens.

"The festival last night was for him. He's the dragon that makes it rain." He had an accent like the girl who sold him the clothing. The boy puffed his chest out, like he was proud to know this. "He lives around here. It's said if you see him, you'll have good luck." He grinned widely, showing some missing teeth.

"Hey! You boy, get back to work!" an old man with a rake yell from across the garden at the boy. The child looked scared before muttering a good day to Deidara and running off.

Deidara turned back to the statue "_Bo-n, yeah."_ He would have to remember that for when he punched that snake in the face. Some good luck that turned out to be.

The blond headed back to that path to look for Kakashi.

Kakashi, who seemed to be the source of all his problems at the moment. He wasn't sure what he thought about going to Konoha. Kakashi wasn't Hokage, he couldn't promise him safety. Even if he did get Konoha to agree to Deidara staying, every other village would be looking for his head on a platter. It was still odd that he was actually considering this. Something about Kakashi made him want to stay near him, even if sometimes he did want to kill the bastard.

He was like that with Sasori, too. He liked having Sasori as a partner, even if the red head had no clue what art was, and sometimes he had wanted to kill Sasori. The blond still like him, though. Only… Kakashi was different. He wanted to be around him for much more different reasons. Not just to work with, but to just… talk to.

Deidara didn't know what he was thinking right now. He really just wanted to get away from everything.

It didn't take long to find Kakashi. Uhh, Kakashi really was an old man. He was sitting on a bench facing the woods that the garden faded into. Just watching the woods, like an old person.

"Hello." Kakashi greeted him. He was wearing all black, a black turtle neck and black pants to match. Kakashi's mask was the only thing that wasn't black.

"Hmm." Deidara was still waking up. He didn't feel like talking.

"Did you sleep well?" Deidara really didn't like small talk. He wished Kakashi would just come out and say it "_Are you going to Konoha with me?" _

"Sure, yeah" the blond didn't want to fight. He was still tired, and didn't want anything to do with Konoha for the rest of the day. He decided it best not to say anything on the subject.

"It's beautiful out here."

"Hn." So, he was going to talk about it. "In Iwa, there were only two seasons, winter and summer." The blond decided to add.

"Oh?" Kakashi questioned.

"Yeah, it's below freezing one day then the next it's over one hundred degrees."

Kakashi chuckled "Konoha has seasons. It's very nice there."

"I'm sure it is, un." He was sure Kakashi heard the sarcasms dripping from his voice because he changed the subject.

"Have you eaten?" Kakashi looked towards him, both eyes exposed.

"No, un." He had forgotten to grab something in his search for the other ninja.

"Here" Kakashi handed Deidara a small paper bag. The blond looked in it. Little cut triangles of white sat in the bag. His eyes lighted up in delight when he realized it was dried coconut. He took a few pieces before handing the bag back to Kakashi.

The two of them sat together for a while. Eating coconut and admiring the garden. Deidara's blue eyes took in the sights of the land. It really was nice out here. He was scanning over the tree line when movement caught his eye. A wolf had just walked out of the woods. It was sniffing the air and ground. The blond smiled. He had never seen a wolf this close up. It was huge, bigger than Deidara thought it should be. A pair of yellow eyes scanned the ground until they landed on Deidara.

Its black fur glistened in the sunlight.

/

Kakashi's heart quickened when he saw the wolf. Its eyes watched Deidara with such intensity. The black hackles stood on end.

"_The black wolf is evil. He causes pain everywhere he goes. He cannot be killed, only avoided. Do not let him lure your love to him. He is a master of deception. The only thing that can denture the black wolf is a powerful spirit." _

The grey haired ninja bolted up, dragging Deidara up with him.

"Hey, yeah!" Deidara protested.

"Let's go, I'll buy you lunch." Kakashi led the blond away from the garden. His eyes glared at the creature until it slunk away to the woods. He looked straight ahead at the stone path. They were just entering town when Deidara wrenched his arm away.

"What the hell is wrong with you, yeah!" Deidara howled. His blue eyes had turned grey and were set in a hard glare.

Kakashi wasn't sure what to say. For the first time in a long time, he was at a loss for words. He felt he should tell Deidara what that crazy lady had told him. He would either laugh about Kakashi's gullibility, or… Honestly, Deidara was unpredictable; he hadn't a clue what the boy would do. It would be something along the lines of yelling, hitting, or both.

"I need to tell you something." Kakashi looked around "Let's discussed this over lunch." He gestured toward a takoyaki bar.

Deidara looked annoyed, but walked towards the bar. Kakashi moved ahead of him to open the door. He didn't think much of it at first; he would have done it for anyone. It was just common courtesy. But the look on Deidara's face… The blond seemed about ready to punch him. He had stopped, to look at Kakashi with such distain, before stomping inside.

Kakashi sighed.

Deidara had gone to a table in the far corner of the bar. He sat up against the wall, arms crossed with a pout on his face. He didn't even glance at Kakashi as he sat across from him. The blond just kept staring out the window.

"What did you want to talk about, un?" Deidara continued to look out the window

"Ah… well, do you remember when I went off while you were buying clothes?" This seemed like a good start.

"…Yeah." Deidara said slowly, looking Kakashi in the eyes.

"I saw a woman, across the street from me. She gestured for me to follow her, and I did." Kama knows why he did that.

Deidara's face scrunched up in irritation "Are you trying to tell me you got herpes, un?"

What! "No!" He said quickly. Of course that's the first thing Deidara would think. "She was a fortune teller. She told me something…"

"Your future, un?" The blond seemed interested now.

"Yeah…" It would be best if he didn't tell Deidara about the "_lover_" thing. "She said someone I know was in danger because of a black wolf. I guess I was just a little worried when I saw the thing. It was silly of me to drag you here. It was just a coincidence…"

"Wolves mean someone will steel something from you, or betray your secrets." Deidara said without missing a beat.

"Oh?" That was a little unexpected.

A blush crept up on the boy's face. "My mother was really into the meaning of dreams and stuff like that. I never really was into it, but it was fun to pretend that they meant something. A wolf doesn't always mean a real wolf. It can symbolize something else, or someone else. "

Kakashi smiled through his mask. He was about to comment to that, but a man had come to their table to take their order. The two of them ordered takoyaki and a vegetable tempera, then the man left to the kitchen.

"How was your day?" Kakashi questioned.

Deidara rolled his eyes. Kakashi thought that all teenagers were just talented at rolling their eyes, but Deidara seemed to be a grand master. He could make Kakashi feel like a complete brain dead idiot, just by rolling his eyes.

"It's ten in the morning, I had to look for you, and get dragged out of my seat because you're afraid of wolves, un. How do you think my days going, yeah?" Deidara said with a smirk.

The blond also made Kakashi want to slap him upside the head.

"Sounds stimulating." Kakashi smiled at him.

Deidara laughed and smiled back at Kakashi, which made the grey haired ninja smile wider. When Deidara really smiled, not smirked, it was contagious. The blonde's smile lit up his entire face.

He was snapped out of his trance when food was set on the table. The waiter bowed and left them to eat. Kakashi watched Deidara eat. No one else was in the restaurant; he contemplated taking his mask off to eat. But Deidara was here… He couldn't believe he had just thought that. No one alive today had seen his face and he would like to keep it that way.

"Do ou wa me coose mm eyes, un?" The blond was obviously hungry. He was shoveling food into his mouth like it was going to be his last meal. Some rice even fell out of his mouth as he spoke. The chicken last night and the coconut this morning was most likely the only thing the blonde had eaten in twenty-four hours.

"I had something this morning; I can eat when we go back to the inn." When Deidara was sleeping, he had gotten breakfast and found the trail to take to Konoha. He really did need to get back to his village soon. He wondered if now was a bad time to bring up Konoha to Deidara. He tried to earlier, but the blond just brushed it off. He didn't want the boy to be angry with him. Deidara didn't seem too keen on talking about it, but Kakashi needed an answer soon.

"_And he needed to find out what to do if Deidara said no…" _

"Deidara…" Kakashi started. The blond looked up at him, his mouth still full of food.

"Hm?" Deidara's blue eyes gleamed brightly. Food seemed to make him happy.

"Have you thought about what we talked about last night?" He was dipping into the border, seeing how far the blond would let him go.

"No, un. I haven't had time." Deidara looked angrily down at his food, avoiding Kakashi again.

"Alright." But it wasn't alright. He really wanted to leave this place tonight. Kakashi wasn't sure what to do at this point. Trying to drag Deidara back with him would be more trouble than it's worth. But he couldn't wait for an answer much longer. He was getting impatient. The grey haired ninja tried to clear his mind. That was easier said than done.

"I'm going to go out for a bit, yeah." Deidara got up from the table. He seemed annoyed as he passed Kakashi and walked out the door.

The blond hadn't even finished his food.

/

Deidara came back later that night to find Kakashi asleep on his mat. The blond pulled off his shirt and collapsed on his own bed. After lunch, he had gone on a walk, to think. For the whole rest of the day. He had thought long and hard about his decisions, to either fight Kakashi or accompany him to Konoha. After all the debating, his conclusion was he has no fucken clue what the hell he's going to do.

Deidara sighed.

"Are you awake?" Deidara heard shifting along with the calming voice.

He didn't see any point in lying "yeah."

"…"

"Just say it, un." He knew as well as Kakashi did, the grey haired ninja was dying to ask.

"You don't have to, you know." Kakashi said "I'm not going to make you."

"_What the hell, un?"_ Deidara was confused. He thought Kakashi was going to fight him to the death or something if he didn't go. He imagined Kakashi trying to take him to the dungeons of Konoha. Of course, Deidara would use his art to defeat the other ninja, but still… He had thought Kakashi wasn't going to let him go without a fight. Now, he could just go on his merry way?

For some reason, this made the blond want to go with Kakashi more.

"Ok" Deidara breathed. He was going to regret this "I'll go, yeah."

Everything was dead silent for a few seconds, Deidara didn't dare breath.

"That's great" He could just make out a little enthusiasm in Kakashi's voice "we will leave tomorrow."

"Mmm…" The blond buried his head in his pillow. He was already regretting it. Little waves of fear and excitement ran up and down his spine. "_Uhh… Konoha." _

"Don't worry, Deidara. I'll protect you…" It was a soft whisper, but the blond still heard it. His cheeks felt hot suddenly and his body tingled. He wasn't a damsel in distress, he didn't need protection dammit! What the hell was wrong with Kakashi? Did he think Deidara was some weak little kid who couldn't take care of himself! Deidara grumbled as he pulled the covers over his head. He needed to sleep before he thought too much about this and chickened out.

/

Kakashi only had one thing on his mind as he lay in bed trying to fall asleep. And it wasn't what he expected it to be. He wasn't thinking about Deidara going willingly with him to Konoha. No, he was thinking about that wolf.

Kakashi couldn't stop thinking about the black wolf. The image on the card was burned into his brain. The wolf had been standing in a dead looking woods. Its body had been all black, like the night. Only its soulless red eyes and the yellow of its grinning teeth could be seen in the black of its fur. Blood dripped down from its mouth.

And a blond was lying covered in blood next to it.

/

I was sick for three days. That gave me a lot of time for writing! I have updated chapters one-six. **Chapter five has a new scene at the very end!** It's not big, but it has some foreshadowing for the next chapter.

If you were wondering when the hell this takes place, its right after (Don't read if you're not passed chapter 357 in the manga or episode 124 in the anime) Deidara's "death". Everything that happens after that, I'm just making up.

Thanks to all my reviewers and favs!

Reviews are loved!


	9. Trapped

I don't own Naruto.

/

**Brittle**

The next morning was a daze for Deidara. He felt slightly numb, not really there. He went through the motions of getting dressed and packing, but his mind was elsewhere. Before he knew it, him and Kakashi were walking side by side in the woods on their way to Konoha.

"Hey" Kakashi had been silent since they had left. Deidara thought maybe the grey haired ninja was regretting asking him to go to Konoha.

"What, un?" Deidara said back.

"Are you feeling ok? You've been awfully quiet…" Kakashi's voice was calm and soft.

He had been quiet? So had Kakashi!

"…yeah." Kakashi gave him a look that clearly said he didn't believe him "…maybe." His grey eye never looked away from the blond "…No!" Deidara shouted.

Deidara had stopped to shout at Kakashi. They were standing face to face, Kakashi only a few feet away from him, the sun starting to climb into the sky. The light cascaded over Kakashi from behind. They were both wearing the same cloths from yesterday, and the all black attire made Kakashi look like a shadow. A shadow standing in front of the sun. Like and eclipse of some sort.

The blond looked away. "Forget it, un" He murmured as he started to walk again.

"Deidara" Kakashi was walking beside him again "I know you must be terrified, but-"

"I'm not scared, yeah!" The blond argued.

"That wasn't the right word" Kakashi offered "maybe nervous? I would be, too, if I was in your position…"

Yeah, right, Kakashi would be cool and uncaring as always. Just like a fucken Uchiha…

"I'll do everything in my power to look after you."

He really wanted Kakashi to stop talking now. The blond was beginning to feel a little nervous. And maybe… maybe a little scared. Kakashi said he could protect him, but what if he couldn't? What if the information he had wasn't enough? What if they decided they didn't need him anymore and killed him?!

By now, the blond was on the verge of tuning back around.

That is, until a fucken tree tangled itself around his body.

No, it wasn't even a tree. It looked like… like planks of wood. HE WAS BEING HELD BY PLANKS OF WOOD!

"Uhh!" Deidara struggled to move. The wood was covering everything, aside from his head. The blond felt like he was suffocating. It was almost as bad as being trapped under the snow!

"What the fuck is this, un!" Kakashi was suddenly beside him. The grey haired ninja wasn't looking at him, though. He was looking ahead of them.

"Kakashi!" A man yelled from a few feet away. He had short brown hair and creepy black eyes. He was wearing the standard shinobi vest and a Konoha headband.

"Great, I'm not even in Konoha yet and their trying to kill me, un!" Kakashi gave him a glance of sympathy then looked back to his comrade.

"Yamato, let him go." Kakashi said firmly.

"Kakashi- sensei!"

"Sensei!"

Three more ninja joined them. They stood in a fighting stance beside the first, Yamato. His face turned into a hard scowl as he recognized the two to his right. One of them was the blond Jinjuriki he had fought. The other was the pink haired bitch that had killed Sasori!

The last one he had never seen before. He had black hair and black eyes to match. His skin was so pale! And he was wearing a half shirt. How did he not have sunburn? Or at least a tan.

"YOU!" The Jinjuriki didn't look too happy to see him. His eyes held a hatred Deidara had seen from so many others before in his life.

The blond lunged forward, but Yamato put a hand on his shoulder, stopping him.

"What do mean Kakashi?" Yamato seemed confused.

"Let him go and I will explain everything." Kakashi kept his composure, but the Jinjuriki didn't.

"What the hell are you talking about?!" The blond roared. He pointed a tan finger at Deidara "He tried to kill Gaara!"

That's right, the other Jinjuriki lived. All his hard work capturing and killing that guy had gone to waste! He lost both his arms over that…

"Naruto" Kakashi was addressing the blond one now "I know what he did, but you need to trust me. He is going to Konoha willingly. He has information that could help us with Akatsuki."

Everyone seemed to just stop. They all had a surprised look on their faces. Well, the pink one and Yamato did anyways. Naruto still looked pissed and the black haired one… Looked like he could care less.

Kakashi must look calm as always.

Suddenly, the wood receded into the ground releasing Deidara. The blond felt relieved to be free of the confinements. He let out a shaky breath.

The ninja had come concededly closer to him. They still stayed at a distance, a little wary. It seemed they were more concerned with Kakashi then they were with him.

"Sensei, are you hurt?" The pink haired girl asked Kakashi. She was looking the grey haired ninja over, paying particular attention to his right leg.

"I'm fine, Sakura. It's just a little sore." Kakashi's visible eye squinted as he smiled at her. She nodded, but still looked uncomfortable. Her green eyes glanced at him quickly before going back to Kakashi.

Naruto was next to Kakashi, still glaring at Deidara. The blond glared back at him.

"Tsunade sent us to find you. What happened anyways?" Yamato was talking to Kakashi, but looked behind him at Deidara after he spoke.

The blond wasn't sure what he should be doing. His hands were at his side, awkwardly playing with the end of his shirt. He had slowly moved so half of his body was hidden behind Kakashi, away from the other ninja. Naruto seemed about ready to jump him, and he didn't have much clay left. Hopefully, Kakashi could shield Deidara from the Jinjuriki's rage.

"…It's… a long story." Kakashi itched his face.

"Well, I guess we better get back to Konoha. You're going to have to explain this to Tsunade." Yamato gestured to Deidara.

"Right…" Kakashi followed Yamato back on the trail.

/

It hadn't taken long to make it to Konoha, only the rest of the day. He had been watched the whole way back. Kakashi had stayed beside him. Naruto, Sakura, and Sai (Kakashi had said his name) stayed behind him. Yamato had led them to the village, the whole time keeping a watchful eye on Deidara. The blond would occasionally glance behind at the others. Sakura would look away, Sai would stair ahead, and Naruto, the little shit, would sneer at him.

Once they had gotten to the village it was night. They hadn't gone in through the main gate. They went around to some weird, back entrance. It was a rusted door in the ground that led to an underground tunnel. Before entering the tunnel, Kakashi stopped him.

"Deidara" Kakashi started "You're going to have to give us your weapons."

"What, un?" Deidara said slowly, angrily.

Kakashi and Yamato shared a quick glance before looking back at Deidara. "Before we can allow you into the village, we need to secure you."

Deidara stood for a few seconds, just staring at them. He felt like a complete idiot! Just because Kakashi trusted or believed in him or whatever, didn't mean Konoha would. He was still an enemy, a threat. But the blond felt he didn't really have a choice now. Kakashi may have let him go, but Konoha wouldn't.

Deidara looked over all of them. They were surrounding him, waiting for him to say no so they could kill him. Especially Naruto.

The blond went to unfasten his clay pouch, everyone jumped at first, going for a weapon. Deidara stopped his hands at the clasp on his belly. Everyone else had a kunai in hand, ready to strike. Everyone aside from Kakashi, who just carefully watched him. Deidara clicked the clasp and his clay pouch fell to the ground. The other ninja relaxed. Yamato grabbed his bag and pouch, while Kakashi quickly patted him down. He was not very happy about _that_.

"Ok" Kakashi gestured to the tunnel "Let's go."

Deidara followed them in. It was dark for a few seconds as the door shut. Then, the tunnel was illuminated by a glowing flam. Kakashi had lit a torch to guide them through the tunnel.

He wasn't sure how long they had been down there for, but it felt like forever. Forever is a long time to think about the open future.

By the time they had reached the prison cells, Deidara had decided he shouldn't have gone down that stupid tunnel.

/

With much persuasion and reassurance from Kakashi (and a little intimidation from the others) Deidara had gone into one of the cells. When they first asked Deidara to go in, he had flipped. Screaming and yelling at them. He almost got to punch Naruto in the face. Almost.

(unfortunately) Kakashi had restrained him and explained that he would have to wait in the cell until an agreement could be made.

_Flashback_

"_We can't just waltz into the Hokage's office" Kakashi whispered close to him. They were around the corner from where the cells lay. They rest of the group was waiting in front of the open cell they had tried to shove Deidara in, calming Naruto down. After Deidara's freak out, Kakashi had lead (dragged) him here to speak in privet. _

"_I need to speak to her first, work this out." The grey haired ninja pulled Deidara's chin up to look him in the eyes. "Can you trust me? Just this once."_

_Deidara looked down, at his feet. "Whatever, what the fuck else I'm I going to do anyways, un?" _

_Kakashi led the blond back to the cell. He hesitantly walked in, a wave of anxiety washed over him. The bars closed shut in his face as he turned around. _

"_I'll be back" was the last thing Kakashi said before leaving him alone in the cell._

/

Now he sat alone, on the small bed in the corner of the chamber. He had been sitting here for a few hours at least, watching the lights flicker. He was worried Kakashi wasn't coming back. What if this was all a trap? To keep him here and extract all the info they could before killing him. He wanted to think Kakashi wouldn't allow that to happen, but he just wasn't sure. Kakashi might not be able to do anything for him anyways.

The blond just wanted something to happen, good or bad. At least then he wouldn't have to sit here worrying about it. He could just know and have it be over with. And he wouldn't have this fucken light flickering every five seconds!

Suddenly, the door burst open. He jumped slightly, hadn't been expecting it. The door was behind a corner down the hall, so he couldn't see who had entered. He heard heals clicking on the floor quickly and footsteps following close behind. Some voices talking fast and harshly, almost apprehensively, could be heard approaching.

The heals stopped clicking and a blonde woman was standing in front of his cell. She had fiery brown eyes, scanning him over bitterly. Her skin was pale and a blue rhombus was painted on her forehead. Two blonde pigtails sat loosely on her shoulders, bangs parted in the middle. She was wearing a low cut grey top, showing of her rather large breasts, and a green robe. Her hands were on her hips, making her look authoritative.

"_She must be the Hokage, un."_ Deidara thought.

They continued to look each other over, sizing each other up. The blond noticed others standing beside her. That Sakura girl, two ANBU, and Kakashi…

Kakashi came back! For some reason he felt so happy Kakashi was here. At least one person he knew a little bit about was here.

"Open it" The woman put her hands down and gestured to the bars with a nod.

One of the ANBU opened the lock with a key and hand seal. The blonde woman wasted no time strutting into the cell towards Deidara. He stood, ready to fight if needed, but the women stopped a few feet away from him.

"Are you injured?" She asked him.

Deidara looked passed her, to Kakashi. The grey haired ninja nodded. "… No, un."

"Good" She looked at the ANBU. They came forward. "We will take you to a secret location. Put this on." The ANBU held a bag up, trying to put it on his head. Deidara jerked back on instinct. He didn't know if he could do this. He already felt like he was going to have a panic attack.

"You could always stay here, if you wanted to." The woman's voice held no forgiveness.

Like hell if he was going to stay in this fucken place for one more second.

The blond glared at her briefly before allowing the ANBU to put the bag over his head. It was dark, he couldn't see a thing. His ragged breaths were making the air around his head hot. He tried to calm his breathing.

Before he knew it his arms were being held behind his back, to be tied.

"_Just calm down, yeah. Breath, breath, breath…"_

Each ANBU was on either side of him, holding his elbows as they led him through doors and upstairs. He felt like they were leading him in circles to confuse him. The blond was sure they had gone outside at one point due to the sudden coldness. The last room they entered was warm and smelled like vanilla. His hands were untied and the bag was removed from his head.

Deidara took a moment to survey his surroundings. He was confused at first, because he was in the middle of someone's living room. A white couch was to his right, in the middle of the room. It sat on a lavender rug that outlined a small space. A little coffee table with a vase of flowers was in front of the couch. The walls were a sage green that complimented the light color of the wood floors well. He looked farther behind the couch, at an entrance to what looked like a kitchen. To his left was a large rectangular window that took up most of the wall. He could see the entire village from where they were.

He gathered all this info in the course of ten seconds.

"Leave" The blonde woman waved her hand.

The Two ANBU next to him bowed and left.

They were completely alone.

"_Was this woman stupid, un?" _How could she bring him into what looked like an apartment (a nice penthouse) and be dumb enough to be alone with him. His hands weren't even tied!

"My name is Tsunade" She said, her soft voice startling him some "I am Hokage, as you might have known."

"This" she gestured around her "Is my home. You will be staying here, in secret, until I can find what to do with you. Only my ANBU, the team you have already met, and me will know of your presence here."

"So" she stepped forward, so she was only a foot away from the blond "You won't try anything, Got it? Cause if you do, I won't hesitate to kill you." The softness had gone from her voice, all that was left was an icy threat. "My ANBU will be watching you at all times. Even now, their eyes are all on you."

"_What if He had to use the bathroom, un, Or shower?" _

"Do you understand?" Her brown eyes were looking down directly into his blue ones. He would be a little taller than her; if she wasn't wearing her dame heals!

He wanted to yell at her, but decided he would be nice, for now. Because he was too dame exhausted to fight!

Deidara just nodded at her.

"Good" She seemed satisfied with that "follow me."

Tsunade turned on her heal to walk down a hallway. The blond followed a few feet behind her. He wanted to keep his distance, she seemed dangerous. Just by the way she acted. He had a feeling she wouldn't take shit from anyone.

"This is your room" She slid open a bamboo screen door on the right of the hallway.

He peeked his head inside. It had a sleeping mat in the middle of the room and a low desk to the beds left. A window with bars was behind the bed.

"Have those always been there, or are they just for me, yeah?" Deidara pointed to the window.

She smirked at him "Just for you."

She shut the door and led him farther down the hallway.

"First room to the left is the bathroom, second to the left is my study, and the room on the end is mine. You are not to go in my study or my room unless I say." She glanced at him before turning back around and walking into the living room. "This is the front room. That is the kitchen." She pointed to the left. He had thought that was a kitchen. "There are seals all over. Don't even think about trying to get out. You will be with me at all times. If something comes up, you will either be with my ANBU or my personal assistant, Shizune."

"You'll want to sleep now. Tomorrow you will be questioned about Akatsuki. I'd suggest answering as truthfully as possible." Tsunade had her arms crossed and was staring at him.

"…Ok, un." This was a lot to take in at one time. Hopefully he would be able to sleep tonight, because he felt wired.

"Good. If you need anything, just call for me. Your door will be locked at night, so use the restroom now." He really wanted to smack that smirk off her face. He couldn't even leave his room at night without asking? He wasn't a fucken kid. He had come here willingly, so why did he have to be treated like this?

She moved aside so Deidara could walk passed her to the bathroom. He didn't like that she was standing outside the door the whole time. He washed his face and brushed out his hair, just to keep her waiting. When he stepped out, Tsunade had his door open for him. The blond walked in looking at the bland room. Everything but the wood was white or a light blue. Deidara turned around to look at the woman standing in his doorway.

She seemed, for a moment, to be a little sympathetic to his situation "I'll bring you breakfast in the morning."

Deidara nodded.

"Sleep well, Deidara." She slid the door shut. He could hear her heals clicking as she walked away.

The blond just stood for a few moments. He had a lot to think about, now. He went up to the door, trying to open it, just to see if it really was locked. The door didn't budge. Even though it was a screen door, he could feel some kind of jutsu all around the house. He wouldn't be able to break through it. It felt like his chakra was being suppressed. He didn't have clay anyways. His chakra wasn't much use to him now.

The blond sat down on his bed. He listened to the sound of the clock ticking and tried to make shapes out of the shadows the lamp beside his bed made.

Anything to make him forget the situation he was in.

/

Sorry I was gone for so long. Just wanted to let everyone know I was alive. I'm going to try and update more, but I really can't make any promises until June.

This was a long chapter. About 3,300 words. You might have noticed I wrote "him and Kakashi" even though it was Deidara's point of view. I did that on purpose. When I go back and forth between Deidara and Kakashi, I try to keep Kakashi a little more intelligent sounding than Deidara. Not because Kakashi is necessarily smarter than Deidara, but I feel it's more a part of his personality to be composed and use "big" words. That and he's seven years older than Deidara.

What do you think? Cause I really want to know. Do you like where this is going? Can you see the plot unfolding? Tell me what you think!

Please review!


End file.
